Is this a good idea? Or is it too much government control? Is the fine appropriate, or should they try to collect more/less? Do you think Tokyo should do something similar?

“Waste not, want not” is an English idiom that, in some ways, is the closest translation to “mottainai”, perhaps. It means if you don’t waste, you won’t want for anything (in other words, you will always have enough).

Apparently, it’s a phrase that originated in the 18th century, although an older iteration, “Willful waste makes woeful want” is from the 16th century. Seems like people have been wasting for a very, very long time.